Livingston Guatemala The Perfect Beach Vacation

Planning Your Guatemala Beach Vacation

The point of this article is to talk about and to offer travelers to Guatemala options based on my real life adventures throughout Guatemala. No canned Tours in this article I can assure you of that. Antigua Guatemala and Lake Atitlan I have covered and made suggestions in previous articles.

Today this article explores one of favorite regions of Guatemala the Rio Dulce and in particular Livingston Guatemala. I lived in Livingston Guatemala for three months and fell madly in Love with the people of Livingston Guatemala.

For those not familiar with Livingston Guatemala this little piece of Guatemala is worth a stop. Livingston Guatemala is in fact and Island only accessible by Boat from Rio Dulce or from Puerto Barrios Guatemala. From Rio Dulce the boat trip takes a few hours across the largest lake in Guatemala. From Puerto Barrios the ride is 30 minutes along the Caribbean coast line.

Livingston is a Garifuna Village flanked by the Rio Dulce river on one side and the Caribbean on the other side of this little Island. The town of Livingston Guatemala’s history is based on the Garifuna Culture.

One of the most interesting features of Livingston is that in this small corner ofGuatemala different ethnic groups live in harmony: The Garifuna who arrived in 1802 from the island of Roatan, Honduras.

The  Garifuna People of Livingston make Livingston what Livingston is all about, Laid back with amazing food and drink from many local shops. Livingston is not a high end resort town. Rather Livingston has a sampling of small Hotels, Hostels and Guest houses. One large resort existing in Livingston Hotel Villa Caribe is surrounded by lush vegetation inhabited by a great variety of birds …

My Hotel choice has always been the family owned business Hotel Rios Tropicales – Hotel. This is a nice smart choice for the money, offering clean well-appointed and well-decorated rooms around a pleasant if a little cluttered courtyard. Bathrooms are tiled and clean and there is a good communal area to relax in. It is not on the water, but just a two minute walk uphill from the dock and its owners are helpful as long as you speak good Spanish.

Once checked in head to the Caribbean side of Livingston from which you will find the walk of ten minutes a step into the Garifuna Culture. Upon the end of your walk you will be presented with an amazing Caribbean coast line. Dotted with many small bars, restaurants as you walk along the beach. These are local hand outs and you will not see a Neon sign along this walk. You will be welcomed into these little places and for the one with adventure you might even partake of Gifiti a local drink made of rum and special herbs. The rum is aged for about 6 weeks in the bottle and then served as either shots, pints of full bottles. Each family in Livingston have there own recipe for Gifiti. Try it.

Your Monterrico Guatemala Vacation

Let Me Plan Your Monterrico Guatemala Beach Vacation

Travel to Guatemala can be confusing for the first time visitor. Yes many web sites exist on line talking about Travel options to Monterrico Guatemala. That is it, they are talking about options, canned tours and transfers between other travel partners. I see this event unfold daily at Park Central in my home Town Antigua Guatemala. I am an explorer and I detest the idea of walking though the Colonial City of Antigua with a plastic card hanging from my neck that clearly marks me as a tourist. Well I am not a tourist I liver in Antigua.

The point of this article is to talk about and to offer travelers to Guatemala options based on my real life adventures throughout Guatemala. No canned Tours in this article I can assure you of that. Antigua Guatemala and Lake Atitlan I have covered and made suggestions in previous articles.

Today I am covering the Beaches of Guatemala which consists of a Region of the Pacific Coast of Guatemala called Monterrico Guatemala and Livingston Guatemala on the Caribbean Coast of Guatemala. Both areas or regions receive little on-line information that a Traveler may find of help in making there Guatemala Travel Plans. This article is about Monterrico I will get to Livingston in my next post.

Monterrico Guatemala is the name of a town in Guatemala that is on the southern Pacific Coast of Guatemala. From Antigua Guatemala or the Guatemala International Airport Travelers can reach this region in about an hour and a half. From what is called the Port of San Jose a vacationer can travel down a paved two lane road to Monterrico Guatemala. Along this route you will pass small resorts right on the Beach I stopped into each one.

Pantaltal
This is the most modest of the three.  Accommodation is primarily in the bungalow style, with small kitchen in each.  This resort favors a white-washed style, leaning towards a Mediterranean flavor.  The bungalows are immaculately clean, if a little Spartan. The beach is spectacular, grounds are well tended and there’s a lovely swimming pool bar set up.
To contact El Pantanal by phone:  502 5205-0929 or 502 5895-2672.

By email:  doris.eventcenter@gmail.com.

Website:  www.jardindemercedes.net.
Cayman Suites
Cayman Suites is located at the South Pacific coast of Guatemala, Km. 10.5 of Monterrico. Cayman Suites is a new hotel constructed in front of the beach and designed with all the comfort and amenities you need to relax in the most exclusive area of the pacific coast.  Our excellent service and spacious accommodations will give you and your family an unforgettable experience..

The hotel has an ecological reserve where you can find caimans, turtles and fish together in a pond in a safe area, kids will enjoy it.

The hotel has a play ground specially designed for children, where the can play.

Rent of electronic games is available in rooms

Live music on weekends and special holidays
El Galeón Bar, located in front of the beach, with air conditioning, offers a great variety of drinks and snacks. The restaurant serves excellent food with a variety of national and international menus.
http://www.caymansuites.com.gt/en/index.html
Utz Tzaba Beach Hotel
“Utz Tzava,” means beautiful beach in one of the Maya languages.  And the beach is absolutely beautiful.  Creamy yellow bungalows and a few hotel-style rooms look out onto the Pacific.  There is a true tranquility here during the week and the pool is sized generously enough to provide space for a few athletic laps.
To contact Utz Tzaba Beach Hotel by phone:  502 5318-9452 or 502 7848-1479.

By email: info@utz-tzaba.com.

Website:  www.utz-tzaba.com.
Dos Mundos Pacific Resort
Palms and hammocks accent the beautifully appointed grounds of this hotel very near Monterrico Guatemala.  Dos Mundos distinguishes itself with a planked boardwalk-style patio around the one of its two pools.  There’s a children’s play area and this hotel enjoys a good reputation for its seafood meals.
To contact Dos Mundos Pacific Resort by phone:  502 7823-0820 or 502 7848-1771 or 502 7848-1407.

By email:  dosmundospacific@hotmail.com.

Website: http://www.hotelsdosmundos.com.

A few suggestions the beaches are stunning black sand with NO PEOPLE NONE. The first time I stepped foot onto the beaches of Guatemala shock took me over coming from California and the crowded beaches not the case here in Guatemala WOW.

If this is your first time to Guatemala and to the Beaches of Monterrico Guatemala you will need to rent a car. Weekends Guatemala City empties out and the beach loving folks of Guatemala head to Monterrico and this means rooms are hard to come by on Weekends. Plan ahead.

Antigua Guatemala

Antigua Guatemala offers Vacation Travelers a number of Vacation options not found any other place in the world. Guatemala is vast with interesting and diverse vacation destination, Beach areas Monterrico and Livingston Guatemala, Lake Atitlan and Tikal Mayan Ruins. Once a year Antigua Guatemala is the showcase for an amazing series of Religious events that start with Ash Wednesday and follows through to Easter holly week celebrations know as or Semana Santa.

During the 6 weeks of Lent leading up to Holy Week in Antigua Guatemala each Sunday during Lent religious processions criss cross the streets of Antigua as Churches in Antigua Guatemala and area carry Large Wooden Floats one could call them through the streets of Antigua with floral carpets placed on the roadways before the processions.

Travelers come to Antigua during this period of time to participate in these events. For most Travelers who are not familiar with this period in Antigua they are for the most part only spectators. Each Sunday during Lent carpets made of floral pieces are designed by Locals with amazing artists skills These carpets are called Alfombras. Artists spend some times 8 hours with many volunteers to prepare and decorate these carpets only to be walked over and then swept up after the procession has past.

George of George’s Guatemala Travel Club each year builds an Alfrombra in front of his home in Antigua Guatemala. george lives in one of the oldest barrios in Antigua Guatemala. Close to the famed San Francisco Church. Last year near the last week of lent I had guests stay at our Vacation Property in Antigua. Upon there arrival we invited our guest to help build an Alfrombra at Georges house. This was an amazing time for all. Then one of the largest Ondas came through Georges small neighborhood. Almost touching the walls of Georges house to make a turn. Our Guests a Canadian Couple from British Columbia simply stated “I cannot image how you can top this”.

Being in the travel business sadly we all become jaded by these events to us Lent is another time in our life to appreciate our love for Guatemala and for Antigua. Through out Central America Semana Santa is celebrated in each of the Central American Countries.

After this event with our Guests George I discussed the idea of offering Workshops and Tours for Travelers to Guatemala during Lent and Holy Week to be able to participate in building Carpets, not being a spectator, become a participant what a great idea. The building of an Alfrombra is a once in a Life time opportunity for Travelers considering Antigua Guatemala for a winter Vacation.

Travelers interested in this adventure experience in Guatemala can find out more by simply using google and typing Guatemala Travel Packages to find George. Along with Tours George operates one of the top complete Travel Service Organization in all of Guatemala.